Bekenntnis - Kirche - Recht

Since the Reformation, research in theology and jurisprudence has focused on the legal form of the church and the definition of its theological character, a fact which has at times given rise to controversy and has caused some estrangement between theologians and legal experts in the Protestant religion. These have had an effect on church legislation and the application of the law, on the relationship between the church and the state and on the method of dealing with individual questions pertaining to current controversial issues. Hans Martin Müller attempts to mediate between the theological and the legal points of view in ecclesiastical law and the profession of faith. The purpose of his study is to examine the significance of theology for the practice of governing the church and for the Protestant understanding of the office of the church as well as the connection between the concept of the church and the church order.